China has warned it will take “resolute and reciprocal” countermeasures against other countries negotiating with the US if they make a deal at China’s expense during the trade war. China’s commerce ministry was responding to recent news reports that Donald Trump planned to pressure other countries to limit their trade with China in return for tariff exemptions. Beijing and the US are locked in an escalating trade war, running separately to the US’s efforts to rewrite trade deals with the rest of the world. “China firmly opposes any party reaching…
Category: Pl
Add oil: China eyes sweaty success as sports-economy boom brings big gains
In its race to attract visitors and fuel spending, China’s gateway city of Shanghai welcomed a record-high 220,000 spectators for the rip-roaring Formula One Chinese Grand Prix last month. Advertisement Projected to have brought more than 5 billion yuan (US$685 million) in direct and indirect economic benefits to the city, according to the organiser, the prestigious motor race is among the more than 170 international and national sports events that are scheduled to take place in Shanghai this year. And Shanghai’s fervour for holding large-scale sporting events is being shared…
China sends back new Boeing jet made more expensive by tariffs
A Boeing jet intended for a Chinese airline landed back at the planemaker’s US production hub on Sunday, a victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by Donald Trump. The 737 MAX, which was meant for China’s Xiamen Airlines, landed at Seattle’s Boeing Field at 6.11pm, according to a Reuters witness. It was painted with Xiamen livery. The jet, which made refuelling stops in Guam and Hawaii on its 5,000-mile (8,000-km) return journey, was one of several 737 MAX jets – Boeing’s bestselling model – that had been waiting at…
Could Trump’s tariffs make China faster, leaner and stronger?
Relying on brute strength has never been the Chinese way of fighting. A smaller fighter with superior inner balance and core strength can overcome a larger opponent. As China faces an escalating economic war with the United States, this ancient wisdom also applies. Advertisement Beijing is not eager to negotiate and is not under any illusion that the tariff war with Donald Trump’s America will end soon. The Chinese leadership now recognises that unlike the trade disputes of Trump’s first term, America’s strategic goal now is not merely trade rebalancing…
Humanoid workers and surveillance buggies: ‘embodied AI’ is reshaping daily life in China
On a misty Saturday afternoon in Shenzhen’s Central Park, a gaggle of teenage girls are sheltering from the drizzle under a concrete canopy. With their bags of crisps piled high in front of them, they crowd around a couple of smartphones to sing along to Mandopop ballads. The sound of their laughter rings out across the surrounding lawn – until it is pierced by a mechanical buzzing sound. Someone has ordered dinner. A few metres away from the impromptu karaoke session is an “airdrop cabinet”, one of more than 40…
Chinese table tennis fans splash cash in Macau as authorities eye sports boom
The ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup concluded on Sunday night after attracting thousands of Chinese table tennis fans to splash their cash in Macau, all for the love of superstars such as Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha. Advertisement Olympic mixed doubles champions Wang and Sun have amassed a feverish following, particularly among young female spectators, who are willing spend large sums to watch their idols at a time when the country’s central government looks to capitalise on consumer spending on sport. Last week, Beijing rolled out supportive measures for…
Beijing adviser Yan Anlin on why a timetable for Taiwan reunification has disadvantages
Professor Yan Anlin is one of mainland China’s most highly regarded Taiwan studies experts. A former close aide to Wang Daohan, the mainland representative at the historic talks with Taiwan in 1993, Yan is frequently consulted by Beijing on cross-strait policymaking and sits in on official meetings. Advertisement He currently serves as president of the Shanghai Association of Taiwan Studies as well as the Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies. He is also a former vice-president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies think tank. This interview first appeared in…
‘Surprising’ PLA helicopter joint sea drills signal evolving Taiwan strategy: experts
Video of a Chinese army unit training with helicopter crews at sea suggested the kinds of cross-unit coordination and front line coastal support exercises that would be required during a conflict around Taiwan, according to experts. Advertisement Earlier this week, state broadcaster CCTV aired videos and interviews featuring pilots from the 81st Group Army’s aviation brigade, a division under the Central Theatre Command that is tasked with defending the capital Beijing and central regions. The reports on Monday and Wednesday were intended to spotlight the growing capabilities of the first…
China has a secret weapon in US trade war – the renminbi
The US’ “reciprocal tariffs” resemble an indiscriminate attack, hitting not only industrial nations like China and Japan but also highly agricultural economies like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Laos. Advertisement On April 4, China took the lead in retaliating by announcing 34 per cent tariffs. On April 10, the US raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125 per cent, prompting China to match the US rate increase. Trump later clarified that the tariff rate on China was 145 per cent. As the situation evolves, China must consider more effective…
‘Complacent’ US risks losing out to China in Global South tech race, report says
The United States has been warned to stop being “complacent” and engage with the Global South to consolidate its foothold in its escalating technological competition with China. Advertisement Developing countries were expected to play an “increasingly critical” role in advanced technology over the coming decades, and their ties with China would probably strengthen, according to the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. “The United States cannot afford to underestimate the role that will be played by the Global South in shaping global technology competition,” the report said. “Failure to do…